CARRYING HEAVY LOADS THAT GOD NEVER INTENDED FOR US TO CARRY IN LIFE!

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Hello My Brothers and Sisters-In-Christ,

I pray your Wednesday is blessed so far.    I have had the most tremendous week so far and I love to testify of God's faithfulness, love, mercy and gentle Hand of kindness.   In giving GOD ALL THE GLORY, I share the following.   I moved here to Arkansas on May 10, 2017 with a few pieces of furniture, some clothing, my side-kick Toby (my Bichon Freise) and a broken heart.    I was leaving a relationship where my former wife and I were not on the same sheet of God's Plan for our lives.    We were basically heading in two very different directions.    God changed things in a fast amount of time and within a six day period I was arriving in Arkansas-- a place I had never been to before, but I came here out of obedience and the leading of The Holy Spirit of God.   Now let us fast forward to today, August 23, 2017 and so much has changed for the good - praise God!      My once bare little home is now full of furnishings with beautiful furniture, framed art work on the walls, three fully furnished bedrooms, a washer and dryer, an awesome vehicle that was given to me with keys, the PAID IN FULL receipt, the Title and a full tank of gas as well-- and the list of blessings goes on and on.  Please know that if I am boasting I truly boast in the Lord for it is He who I give ALL GLORY!   This is a very big change for me since I have always considered myself to be a minimalist.

I served in the United States Army where you had a ruck sack (duffle bag) and when we were out in the deep dark woods on a "mission" or military exercise, the Army cook would toss us an MRE (Meals Ready to Eat)-- and when you managed to tear those freeze-dried pouches open, you never knew whether you would get a small can of beef stew, green eggs (no lie), or spam (the Army called it ham in a can, but I knew it was really spam (processed with "who knows what").   After the military, I really learned that it was a good thing to always travel light-- too much baggage can hold you back from moving forward sometimes.   Well, I believe it is the same thing that happens to us as Christians.  God has a plan for our lives and sometimes the journey is a long one until we finally reach wherever the Holy Spirit is leading us.   God has never intended for you and I too carry unnecessary baggage on our backs. 

We, as human beings, find ourselves picking up things along the way:   bad habits, wrong relationships, addictions and vices, and STUFF just to try to fill the void that only JESUS can fill in us.   Come on my friends, you all know what I am talking about- Right? 

One example of having too much stuff for the sake of having stuff around to make me feel like I was accomplishing something with the finances God was giving me was when I noticed, one day, while my wife was out shopping (again) for more stuff, that our little space was becoming even smaller-- to some, it may even seem like we were becoming hoarders.   Allow me to continue to share.

My former wife and I lived in a small modular or manufactured home (some use to call these kind of homes "Mobile Homes").   When I was growing up, there was a stigma that came with folks who lived in trailer parks or in a mobile home on the back of some rich family's property.   These folks were also referred to as those who "lived on the wrong side of the tracks".  I remember when I was a boy growing up in an middle class family-- I had a friend whose family was very wealthy.     One day, as I was standing outside of the front door of his parents "House and Gardens Model Home", waiting for him to join me for a day of rough housing in the woods that were about a mile away in an old suburb (The "Forbidden Zone" according to his parents)..  I remember his mother whispering, "Are you still friends with that Hudson Boy?   You know his parents don't have much money sweetheart and these are not the kind of folks your father and I want you to associate with"!   REALLY?    I was so young and didn't really concern myself with any of that Hosh Posh Arrogance.  In fact, it didn't matter to me how much money and fancy things anyone had-- I was a kid,  and I just wanted to go out in the woods and roll around in the mud, climb trees and trudge through the smelly old crick looking for bullfrogs and tadpoles.   These are things kids should be concerning themselves with-- not whether the friends you are playing with are Elitists or Simpletons.    Like my dad always would say, "They all put their pants on the same way-- one leg at a time".   Some would call him a simple man for saying that, but I call him an incredible man of wisdom (and common sense).   I have always said, "I would rather have a certificate in Common Sense than a wall full of degrees of higher education any day".  

Folks can be so prideful and arrogant!    It is no wonder Jesus, in His earthly ministry, hung around with those "who lived on the wrong side of the tracks".  He may have also associated with some of the wealthy at times, but we must remember that the "respectable and highly esteemed" of Jesus' day were the Religious Leaders:  The Pharisees and Sadducee.   Remember this as well-- Jesus called these folks "snakes and vipers" (Matthew 23:33).  He also warned them by saying "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean" (Matthew 23:27).   WOW!   You go Jesus!   Now that is keeping things real isn't it!   Jesus saw right straight through their hypocrisy and this is why the religious leaders despised Him.   And then when they began to hear the reports that Jesus was telling folks He was the Promised Messiah, this had to enrage them even more.  I can only imagine what some of them may have been thinking as they would lay on their beds pondering these things about Jesus.  "If He really is The Promised Messiah, I was rebuked and called a viper, a hypocrite, and a whitewashed tomb full of bones that are dead and everything unclean.   My facade is now revealed, but not by any man, but by JESUS Himself.  Oh, I am in serious trouble if I don't get things right between God and I".   But I can only speculate if any of these religious leaders pondered such thoughts on their beds.   In fact, I believe their anger and resentment towards Jesus festered and drove them onward in their goal to kill this man...this Jesus who calls Himself The Son of God....The Messiah and Savior of The World.   Anger and pride together is like an spiritual Atomic Bomb.   As both anger and pride fester and grow it pushes a man to do horrible things-- even crucify the very man who willingly came from heaven when He said to The Father, "Send me.  I will go and save mankind".   This same man (The Son of God) willingly gave His life by being crucified-- hung on a cross at Calvary (Skull Mountain) as the very people whom He came to redeem back unto Our Heavenly Father drove nails in His feet and hands.    THANK YOU JESUS FOR DYING THAT I MAY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE AND I CAN NOW COME UNTO THE FATHER THROUGH YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS BLOOD YOU SHED ON THE CROSS.   

It is amazing how giving our lives to Jesus Christ changes the way we see things in life.   Growing up I wanted to be a professional Singer (and stage performer).    According to my mom, and some awards and trophies I received in winning talent shows, others thought I had great potential as well.    But life has a way of taking us down roads we never imagined we would find ourselves traveling..   I graduated from high school and while everyone else was readying themselves for going off to college, I was looking for a job that would pay me a couple of pennies above minimum wage.  I was also having to share a house with four or five other guys so we could all afford to live on our own-- staying far from the other option of  having to live in our parents basements until we were in our forties.   Now that is a scary thought-- for the Child and for the Parent!   Then in December 1981, a hard harsh winter storm hit the small suburb where I was raised in Michigan, and I remember trudging through snow drifts in search of something-- not even sure what that something really was at the time-- but I knew there had to be more for me.   I still had dreams and aspirations to do something big and important in my life, but how was I going to get out where I could see more of the world?    So I signed the dotted line and joined The United States Army.  Not exactly the dotted line I was hoping I would one day sign--I wanted to sign with a record label and make music- but joining the military - REALLY?    Even Uncle Sam raised an awkward eye brow when he saw me entering the Basic Training Post.    Don't fret folks, I am not going to share my whole testimony.   You can always read my story in its entirety by getting it on Amazon.com (The Devil's Misfits:  My Testimony by Jay L. Hudson)  (I know, it's a shameless plug but advertising costs are crazy folks so I have to use this venue to save me some money!   NOTE:  And just in case you are wondering why my author name is different from my name listed on this blogger page - it's a Pseudonym - a Ghost Writer name -- but it's all still ME!.  

In closing this particular blog, I conclude by once again saying that life can be strange and many times we don't see our dreams and aspirations being fulfilled.    However, as we continue to surrender ourselves to God's Plans and Purpose that He has for our lives, we discover that no matter where we are on this journey, He is right there by our side every step of the WAY (Jesus Christ said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE; no one comes to the Father but by me" (John 14:6)   

I am incredibly and eternally grateful to JESUS CHRIST for being my Lord, Savior, Redeemer and The Lover of My Soul.    I am the Man I am today and the man I hope I become one day because of God's Transformation Power-- His amazing and mighty Hand that continues to mold me into the Image of His Son Jesus Christ.

I pray that you have been blessed, inspired, encouraged and maybe even challenged in your Faith Walk today.   I thank you so much for visiting my Blogger Page -- and I would love to hear from you.   You can contact me at my email account:    Jhudson1159@gmail.com 

Be blessed and be a blessing to someone today in Jesus' Name!   Love you all!

J.

PS:   Before I forget, I realize that my past "Blogger Articles" are listed sequentially from The Past (2015) to (some of 2017).   As I was pasting these past "articles" I wasn't giving much thought to the date sequences.   So you will begin to see my Blogger Articles are starting to reflect today's recent date (August 2017).   Sorry if there is any confusion on this matter.    I would like to encourage you to view some of my past 'Articles" because I have included the Prophetic Words from God and Visions and Dreams as well (from 2015 thru to 2017).    Thank you for your patience and understanding.    I am indeed a "Work in Progress" and I am "Under Construction". Ya'll! LOL